Lafangey Parindey

Brand Yash Raj is desperately attempting to walk hand-in-hand with demands of the Indian audiences in the 21st century. One of the most prominent steps taken by the production house is to embrace the new outlook in cinema that the new generation has is by giving a break to new film makers. However, these new names don’t always deliver. While Siddharth Anand delivered with Salaam Namaste, his follow up Tara Rum Pum was a disaster. Similarly, while Shaadi Ali outdid himself with Bunty Aur Babli, he failed miserably with Jhoom Barbaar Jhoom. This Friday’s release, Lafangey Parindey features a similar maker who is getting his 2nd chance with the prestigious production house, but a third chance when it comes to his overall filmography. His debut film Parineeta took the industry by a storm as did his second outing Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, although in an opposite and totally negative way. Now he returns with Lafangey Parindey promising to deliver with this unconventional title, cast and subject. Does he indeed deliver? Read on to find out.

There is no doubt that thirty minutes into Lafangey Parindey you make up your mind that Sarkar has stepped up with this one and although not flawless it will be a major improvement to the rather disastrous Laga Chunari Mein Daag. For starters, he’s chosen a story that is rather well structured and unique although it has its share of de ja vu moments. Despite those moments the film remains to hold ground thanks to innovative script. Perhaps Aditya Chopra ought to hand over the pen to new names more often because the credit of Lafangey Parindey’s script goes to Gopi Puthran while the shame of the script that Pradeep Sarkar endorsed for Laga Chunari Mein Daag was credited to no one but Aditya Chopra himself.

Puthan has written a story based in aamchi Mumbai where people are struggling on a daily basis to make ends meet and demanding to make those ends meet through morally correct and legally endorsed ways is just not a priority, at least its not for the Nandu’s (Neil Nitin Mukesh) of the colony. A trained boxer, Nandu fights blindfolded and brings in the big bucks for his boss. Enter Pari, the rollerblading, dancing, and feisty Pari. It essentially a love story between these two characters wound up creatively with twists and turns that their life style contains.

Having said that the film has an innovative script it cannot be denied that it doesn’t have some of the usual clich